Nightmare Midnight
by Kat Tendou
Summary: After the battle at Jusendou, Ranma confronts his feelings ...


  
  
stuff in-between asterisks (*) are thoughts.   
  
Editor's Notes : in this fanfic, we're dealing with a slightly more gentle Ranma & Akane -- yes, they'll fight like we all expect them to, but.. well, you'll see. (If you dun' like it, dun' read it. It's that simple. ^^) And yes, if you couldn't tell by now, this is my first fic. e.e; Flames will be incinerated.  
  
  
The drops of cold water hit them, and Akane was returned to her normal size. Onna-Ranma, on the verge of desperation, called her name, trying to wake the girl in her arms up. "Akane..?" Already the redhead's heart began to sink; she wasn't waking up.   
Minutes later, an empty teakettle sat at Otoko-Ranma's side. Akane, now clad in his familiar red mandarin shirt still does not awaken. "All this trouble because you wanted to save me. You're always getting in the way. Damnit, Akane, you fool.." No, that's not what he meant to say. Always insults instead of the truth.  
Ranma slugged his right cheek and looked wistfully down at her. "Sorry. That's not what I meant. I meant to say thank you, Akane, and that I... I love you," the tears that had been building up finally slid down his cheeks. "I need you, so wake up!" he pleaded with her, trying to will her awake. "I-I can't do this alone! Damnit, wake---" he stopped in mid-sentance. *No..* Akane's skin was cold... so terribly cold. "No..." he repeated in a whisper. *Somebody help me..* "AKANEEEEEEEE!!"  
  
Ranma sat bolt upright on his futon, drenched in a cold sweat, but not cold enough to activate the curse. wide eyes stared at the wall of his and his father's room. Still gasping for air, he threw back the covers and jumped out of his futon, already opening the window.  
It was a cold night, but it didn't matter to him. Edging along the roof, he peered down & into a specific window. Easing it open silently, he crawled into the room & perched on a desk. *She's here. Thank God.* Ranma crept over to the bed and looked down at her.  
Unable to resist the urge to touch her, he knelt down and reached out to gently graze his fingertips along her cheek. Warm. The nightmare was so real, he half expected her to be cold to his touch. He sighed mentally, and allowed himself a small smile that reached his eyes. He could be content watching her sleep all night, but would deny it if anyone asked.  
Still, just the thought of watching her made Ranma lightly blush. Yes, he loved her. It was something he hadn't been able to admit to himself, much less anyone else until the day before, when he thought he'd lost her. But when she'd asked him, old habits kicked in & he denied having ever said it out loud.  
She hadn't woken up from his touch, and that made him somewhat curious and worried. Was she that sound asleep? It made sense; after the hell they'd gone through at Jusendou, who wouldn't sleep so soundly? Him. He couldn't, because he was plagued with subconscious visions in the form of 'what if..?' situations. 'What if' the Jusenkyou water hadn't been enough? 'What if' she hadn't woken up after all? 'What if this...' 'What if that...' It was driving him so crazy that he had to come and see if she was still here.  
Ranma had satisfied the need to see her, but somehow it just wasn't enough. He needed to touch her, to hold her. He lifted his hand away from her cheek where it had been all this time, and was suprised to see that she'd been smiling. Even moreso was that the smile slipped when he moved his hand away.  
Curious now, he tentatively replaced his hand, and blinked when she smiled again. His own smile returned; this smile she had was only for him, and that nearly melted him on the spot. *Does she know it's me?* His heart began to sink, pulling his smile with it. *What if she thinks it's someone else?* Again, his mind was causing doubts to grow. If she was dreaming, was it about him or someone else? Ranma shook his head, banishing that line of thought. It didn't do any good to worry over something he couldn't fix.  
His heart implored him to stay by her side & to keep her safe for the rest of the night. However his mind, no matter how much it agreed with his heart, reasoned that it wouldn't be wise to get caught in Akane's room in the middle of the night. He reluctantly agreed to return to his room, since getting caught just watching her wasn't a good enough reason to marry her soon thereafter.  
Marrying her. *Now what made me think about that?* Right. Maybe it was the fact that both their fathers had been pushing for this marriage since the beginning. Back then, he was simply revolted at the fact of being forced to marry so early in life. Early marriages were a thing of the past, after all.  
*But do I still feel that strongly about marriage?* He thought about it. He supposed he didn't find it all that bad now, but it still annoyed him that the old men wanted this so badly. "Wait a sec," he muttered to himself. He was annoyed at their folks pushing for this union, but -wasn't- at just the idea of it? "Man, I don't even know how I feel about this anymore.  
"Enough thinking," he told himself, and headed back towards his room. If he didn't get any sleep now, he never would. The less rested he was, the less alert he was, and in this town, that was a dangerous thing. Ranma just hoped that the nightmare he had didn't return this evening; he didn't think he could stand going through that again.  
  
  
End Notes : In the manga, it isn't specified if, when Nodoka Saotome came to live at the Doujo, that she shared a room with her son & husband. So for argument's sake, I've opted to have her room with Kasumi for my own reasons. ^^ I thought I'd let you know now.  
  



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